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Hello fellow BMW enthusiasts,
Earlier this year I purchased a 2006 750i at an insurance auction, which leads to my questions: I purchased the car for $18,000 site unseen and took possession yesterday. Upon inspecting the car, here is what I discovered,
1. There is a small dent in the hood near the right kidney shaped grill.
2. The hood is not properly fitting on the car on the left side
3. The car was involved in what appeared to be a minor collision on the front end, only the dent in the hood and missing trim pieces on the front plastic bumper show this.
4. the Navigation System located in the left storage compartment of the trunk has been removed.
So, I do not have the ability to do this type of body work and engine work myself, thus I will be relying on a professional. Should I take this to the repair shop and hope for the best? I have generally had good luck with auctions, but am afraid my luck has run out. I am willing to spend maybe a few thousand dollars, but would rather by a non-salvage if repair bill is expected to rise above that. This car, was intended to be a gift for my wife's 40th birthday . I have 6 weeks to prep the car for my wife or change plans all together. I would really appreciate any insight from anyone who has ever had any of these issues with their car. I am very handy and love working on cars, but the BMW maintenance is all new to me. Thank you. I hope to make a decision based on your feedback.
Torch

I almost forgot. I did briefly drive the car. It started fine, but the RPMs won't go much above 1000 and it is running rough. The fluids look good with proper amounts of radiator fluid, oil, and trasmission fluid. Thanks,
Torch

I'm selling mine with 82,000 miles - asking 10k more than you paid - with none of the problems you listed. I would say that even at an independent shop you're going to pay around $100 per hour labor. I don't know for sure, but I bet you're looking at $2k in parts to repalce everything that is missing - that means if they need to do 80 hours of labor to repair everything its a wash.

well first you need a new navi. plus is ure amplifier missing also? its silver and its located in front of the navi when u open the door. the body work isnt much of an issue but have them check why the car is giving all these error . sometimes its just a bad battery. if the batt is no good it will give you alot of these messages. i just had the same issue and i switched my battery now its all fine. so i would start there

Hello fellow BMW enthusiasts,
Earlier this year I purchased a Z4 and have thoroughly enjoyed it which lead to my decision to purchase a 2006 750i at an insurance auction, which leads to my questions: I purchased the car for $16,000 site unseen and took possession yesterday. Upon inspecting the car, here is what I discovered,
1. There is a small dent in the hood near the right kidney shaped grill.
2. The hood is not properly fitting on the car on the left side
3. The car was involved in what appeared to be a minor collision on the front end, only the dent in the hood and missing trim pieces on the front plastic bumper show this.
4. the Navigation System located in the left storage compartment of the trunk has been removed.
5. The car came with one remote, upon starting the car, I get these advisory lite/warning:
Restraint Systems Malfunction
Engine malfunction
Service Engine Soon
Reduced Power
PDC Malfunction (park distance control)
Cornering lamp Malfunction
BMW Assist Malfunction
6. I tried operating the I-drive system, and it has limited capability, but no radio function, I suppose the radio function went through the missing Nav unit?
7. The spare tire, first aid, cd changer above glove compartment are all missing.
8. Additionally, on the front bumper it appears that one of the parking assist sensors was damaged/missing and there is also a square cover on the right side missing.
9. No airbags appear to have deployed, but the steering wheel cover seems a little loose.

So, I do not have the ability to do this type of body work and engine work myself, thus I will be relying on a professional. Should I take this to the repair shop and hope for the best? or should I try to cut my losses and sell at another auction? I have generally had good luck with auctions, but am afraid my luck has run out. I am willing to spend maybe a few thousand dollars, but would rather by a non-salvage if repair bill is expected to rise above that. This car, was intended to be a gift for my wife's 40th birthday and now I am super worried about how this will all turnout. I have 6 weeks to prep the car for my wife or change plans all together. I would really appreciate any insight from anyone who has ever had any of these issues with their car. I am very handy and love working on cars, but the BMW maintenance is all new to me. Thank you. I hope to make a decision based on your feedback.
Torch

send me pictures of the car. what auction did you purchase the car? i might be interested.

Good point on the battery - get that checked - those are not the typical errors from a low battery though. Take it to a shop that can reset the fault codes - see if they come back. Just unhooking an airbag will set a fualt that will not reset when you reconnect it.

Thanks to all the responses so far. I will try to get pictures uploaded in the next couple of days. My friend just said I could borrow his OBD code detector. I will start there. Thanks for the advice about the battery. I appreciate all the inputs.

With any other car I'd say keep it if you bought it far greater than retail value. But for these cars I'd say get it off your hands asap.
I never shun from a car thats been in a fender bender provided it's around the rear or sides. But front hits I avoid all together - especially on these sensitive bytches.

Folks,
Just an update. i just got off the phone with the Mechanic. I am going to take the car over to him on Friday. he will diagnose my engine prblems for up to 1.5 hrs for $85. I will let you know what I find out by next Monday or Tuesday, Sept 27/28.

It doesnt sound that bad __your parts are going to cost you some money. Like the NAV, CD changer in glove box, but once you run the diagnostic everything will be more clearer. The cosmetic work maybe around $2500/$3000 for the hood work and sensor replaced plus trim (hopefully no damage to the suspension)..

With any other car I'd say keep it if you bought it far greater than retail value. But for these cars I'd say get it off your hands asap.
I never shun from a car thats been in a fender bender provided it's around the rear or sides. But front hits I avoid all together - especially on these sensitive bytches.

Actually rear hits on these cars are far worse to deal with than a front

Alot of electronics run through the back of the car. It's also easier to replace fenders than rear quarter panels.

To the OP I would cut my losses and sell. You could still have problems potentally creep up from time to time in the future. To me it's not worth it if you can just pay a little more and not deal with it.